On a rainy night in Chang'an, a strange corpse with a soul-locking pattern on its eyebrows like a living creature dragged Shen Yan, the official responsible for suppressing evil, into the whirlpool. He is the son of the former commander of the Suppression of Evil Division who was unjustly executed. There is a mark on his chest that has the same origin as the corpse pattern - this is not only the key to the "grain viewing technique" to discern the secrets of the heavens, but also the Nether Gate sacrifice that the Xuanyou Sect is looking for.
The jade medal with lotus pattern reappears, linking to the unjust case of "collaborating with the enemy and treason" against his father three years ago; the sacrificial curse from all directions appears, and murders are caused in Suzaku, Xuanwu, Qinglong, and Baihu, and the cult wants to awaken the ancient ghost emperor with his living soul. Shen Yan and his partner Su Qingmei, who is proficient in mechanism skills, are tracing the truth behind the corpse case behind the soul-locking pattern, while confronting the priests of the Xuanyou Cult who sacrifice children. They must also be wary of the ambiguous stance of Prince Jing in the court, the secret intrigues of the Dali Temple Minister, and the wavering betrayal of his former benefactor Lu Chengan.
Every time the observation pattern technique is used, Yangshou will be depleted. The soul-locking pattern is both the seal of salvation and the key to destruction. When the black smoke of the Qinglong sacrifice in Zhongnan Mountain rose, Shen Yan finally understood: What he wanted to undo was not only his father's grievances, but also the fate that the Shen family had carried for generations - to use blood as ink and patterns as blades to guard Chang'an's last chance of survival in the shadow of the corpse mountain blood lotus and the ancient god of the netherworld.
